I held my groan in when Shane began to cry after only sleeping barely an hour. He was only two weeks old and I was still healing. I got out of the bed and went to his room. He didn't have much, besides a crib, a dresser, and a changing table. My ex-husband divorced me shortly after we found out I was pregnant. He had claimed it was bad enough being married to me, he didn't need anymore baggage. When we married we were young and didn't know what we wanted. Worst mistake ever. We were in high school, I was the good girl and he was the bad boy. We were perfect for the first two years, then it all went down hill. Now I was healing from giving birth two weeks ago, to my beautiful baby boy Shane. I hate his father, but Shane was my everything.

I went to his room and sighed when I saw he was crying because he lost his pacifier. I gave it back then redid his swaddle since it came a little undone when he was crying. He went right back to sleep once he was satisfied and I went back to my room, practically falling into the bed, letting oblivion take me.

The next day I had to go to the store. I looked through what money I had left. I was currently on maternity leave, and I had to make it till next check, which was a few days away. I looked around the kitchen and made a short list of things I needed before getting Shane ready. He was fast asleep in his carseat as I pushed the buggy around the store. I found the bottle of barbecue sauce I was looking for, at the top shelf, just out of reach. A tattooed arm reached up and grabbed it down for me. I smiled and looked at who had done it. He was a very large man, standing close the seven feet tall, making me feel even shorter than what I was, which was five feet tall. "Thank you," I said as I placed it in the top part of the cart. He was really sexy with his chocolate colored hair and brown eyes that held gold flakes in them. He had a light scruff on his face as well. On his muscular body he wore a leather cut. I knew if I looked on the back I would find a Caged Beasts patch on his back. They ran this area, and I tended to stay away from them. Not because I didn't like them or because I was scared, but because I wasn't the type of woman to be seen around them. Many of the women you see are hangers or biker chicks, and I wasn't either of those. I was a single mother who was a librarian.

"How old is he," He asked curiously as he looked at Shane. "Two weeks," I told him. "Then what are you doing out and about doing the shopping, shouldn't you be at home resting while your husband takes care of it," He asked me. "He divorced me when he found out I was pregnant, so it's just me," I confessed to him. I wasn't ashamed. I'm a single mother, so what. I watched his jaw clench then un-clench. He then stuck his hand out for me to shake, "I'm Talon." I put my small hand in his very large one, "I'm Iris, and this is Shane." We then walked around the store talking, and he helped me grab what I needed.

"Where do you work," He asked me curiously. "I'm a librarian at the City Library on fifth street, and you," I asked him. "I'm a mechanic on Cardinal street," He answered. I knew exactly which one that was, "Aren't you guys always busy?" He nodded," We usually handle a lot of the expensive cars people drop off when they come in from out of town," He replied. Our town was a very big tourist spot all year around. During the winter people come to see the spectacular lights the city puts up, during the spring they come to see our flower festival, during the summer it's to enjoy our world famous water park, and during the fall it's to enjoy our harvest festival. It's partly thanks to Caged Beasts getting the publicity to make it so well known. The amazing things that happen here is why I moved here, wanting to enjoy it all, and maybe one day be apart of it. I had bought a house just down the street where it all happens so when the weather is nice during the spring and fall events I'll be able to walk with Shane in his stroller since I know parking will be impossible. It's already become impossible really since the Fall Festival was just a month away.

I paid for my groceries and he walked me to my car. I put Shane in while he was kind enough to put my things in the trunk. I turned to him and smile, "Thanks for the help Talon." He gave me a nod with a small smile, "Anytime."

Talon's POV

I waited till she was gone before going back in to get the things I had come for. She was so small and sweet. She was also strong. She was a single mother, and is gritting her teeth as she deals with the pain to get what she needed too done. When I got back to the compound I was greeted with laughter as my brothers were all joking around. Connie, the President's old lady smiled as she took the bag from me. "What took you so long Talon," She teased. "I was helping a woman I met," I confessed lowly. Didn't need the idiots hearing, they'd give me a ton of shit for it. "Oh really? What made her so special you went out of your way to help her," She asked once we were in the kitchen away from the others. "She was too short to reach the top shelves at the store, and she had her two week old son with her." "Two weeks," She asked concerned. I nodded, "She told me it was just her since her husband left when he found out she was pregnant when I asked why she wasn't at home healing." She began to put the items away, "So what else did you learn about her?" I can see her curiosity was peeking now. "Her name is Iris and her son is named Shane. She also works at the City Library," I told her. "She also drives a silver Civic."

Her eyes then lit up with recognition, "Oh I've seen her. She is such a quiet thing. I haven't had the chance to talk with her, but I've seen her on many occasions at the library working at one of the computers. If I'm not mistaken she had moved here not that long ago." "Who moved here recently," Warden, our President, asked when he came in. "Oh that adorable red head librarian," She told him. "Talon was telling me he had taken so long to come back because he was helping her at the store."

"Isn't she pregnant," Warden asked as he went to grab a cookie from the jar until his wife smacked his hand. "She had the baby two weeks ago," She told him. "She had a baby boy. I didn't know the girl was a single mother though. Had I known, I would've made a package." Connie was big on making sure every single mom in town was set for when they had their children. She knew from experience the struggles of being a single parent before she met Warden. Caged Beasts was a big part of our community and that was how she and many of the other old ladies enjoyed contributing, besides hosting the festivals and such around the town. She snapped her fingers in frustration, "Dang it, I'm too busy for the Fall Festival to do anything right now. I'll have to do it afterwards." Warden chuckled and kissed her cheek, "Take it one thing at a time woman, don't want to tire yourself out." She then smiled at me, "Thank you for telling me about her Talon." I nodded and left the kitchen, thoughts of Iris and Shane on my mind.